Deceit
by Aiden Skywalker
Summary: A young padawan tries to reason with his master that there is such thing as a "half lie".


Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or any of the characters I used. As we all know, Star Wars, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan belong to George Lucas. While Tahl and Bant Eerin belong to Jude Watson. The only things I own are the idea to put these characters together for this story and the computer I am typing this on. Don't bother suing me... its pointless.

Authors Note: Here we are, another Obi/Qui story where master and apprentice come together in a Jedi Apprentice time era. I actually wrote the dialog for this story 13 days prior to writing the rest because the dialog for this story flooded into my head one night. I hope you guys like this story! Please review!! Thank you!! : Aiden Skywalker:

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Despite the reverberating voices of several Jedi meandering through the vast hallways of their beloved temple, one Padawan in particular felt as though his heart was beating loud enough to drown out all the other noise. In his futile attempts to seem perfectly relaxed, the boy began to quicken his pace as he brushed past a group of younglings who formed a wake behind their crèche master. If only he could be as carefree as the initiates at the temple who did not have the responsibilities of a Padawan Learner. At this point, all he could do was try to calm himself down by releasing his anxiety into the Force.

Time was cutting short as the Padawan neared his living quarters where he knew his master was waiting. It took all the courage he could muster to keep himself from turning back and delaying his fate. Subconsciously the boy knew that if he turned back now, he would just have to face his master later. Confronting his master was inevitable. The boy took a deep breath before accessing the doors computer system, and then let it out slowly as the door swished open and made his entrance obvious.

His master was sitting at the dining table near the entrance of their living space. The older man appeared to be busy studying a data pad, slouching against the straight back of the chair, his feet resting on the edge of the table. At the sound of the door being accessed, the boys master raised his head to see his apprentice lingering in the doorway.

"Padawan," Master Qui-Gon Jinn acknowledged, "I thought your classes ended an hour ago."

"They did master," Obi-Wan Kenobi admitted. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon set down the data pad he was reading and gave his apprentice his full attention.

"What's the difference between lying and telling the truth?"

"I was under the impression that younglings were instructed in that subject," Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, eying the boy suspiciously.

Obi-Wan tried to seem casual as he walked over to the table and sat down in a chair uncomfortably across from his master.

"That's because they are, but I wanted to hear your opinion."

"Lying is when you are being deceitful in your words or actions, telling the truth is being not only honest with another, but yourself as well."

Nodding in understanding, the boy stood up and turned his chair around so he could straddle it, crossing his arms and resting them on the back of the chair for a head support.

"What if you are telling half of the truth… would you consider that a lie?"

Qui-Gon leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table as he regarded his Padawan, "Is there something you wish to share my young apprentice?"

"That's not the point."

"Care to elaborate?"

Obi-Wan tilted his head to the side a bit, as he carefully thought of how to word his next question.

"The point is, 'Can you still being telling the truth if you're only telling half of it?'"

Qui-Gon leaned back in his chair again, "The answer would be no. If you are only telling half of the truth, then you are deceiving someone into seeing only what you want them to see. Finding truth requires the whole story. Not just half of it."

"However, wouldn't the half that is true, still be true?" Obi-Wan lifted his head and straightened out his back.

"That part would be true, but you are still lying by failing to point out the other half."

"Oh…" the boy relaxed again.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Sort of… lets say, hypothetically, I went to a Cantina. The bouncer asks me if I am twenty-one and wants to see my identification. If I were to tell him, 'No, I am not twenty-one' then show him a fake ID that says I am twenty-four, I would be telling half the truth… right? Because I told him I wasn't twenty-one, which is the truth, but my ID said I was twenty-four, which would be a lie."

"Are you telling me you snuck into a Cantina?"

"No, I said this was hypothetical," Obi-Wan answered a little too quickly for Qui-Gon's comfort.

"Then hypothetically, you'd be lying. Just tell me what you did."

"Well, lets just say I half lied to a Jedi Master…"

Now Qui-Gon began to get nervous, "What did you say to them exactly?"

"You see master… I sort of borrowed a speeder from the hanger bay."

"Do I even want to know how you got away with that?"

"Like I said… I half lied… not all the way, just a little bit."

"Padawan… just tell me what you said to them."

"I told Master Tiin that I needed to borrow a speeder because it was an emergency… which was true. It was to protect Bant really…"

"Padawan Eerin told you to steal a speeder to protect her? Dare I ask why she needed protection? Wasn't Tahl with her?"

Obi-Wan straightened up and nearly lost his cool, "Of course Tahl wasn't there! Bant snuck out of the temple at night to she could buy Master Tahl a birthday present and she couldn't get back into the temple without her master noticing and its suppose to be a surprise!"

"Let me get this straight… you lied to Saesee Tiin so he would grant you access to a speeder, just so you and Bant could sneak out of the temple to get Tahl a birthday present?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you just ask me to escort you?"

"Because it would have ruined everything! Bant wanted to go alone because she wanted Master Tahls' gift to be something no one else would think of. We wanted it to be special."

A deep sigh escaped from the older mans lips, "I am at a loss of what to do with you Obi-Wan."

"Give me a stern lecture and keep this a secret between you and me?"

The sheepish smile on his Padawan's face almost convinced him of his apprentices suggestion.

"How about you go to your room until I decide what punishment best suits this situation."

Obi-Wan hung his head before rising from his seat, "At least I tried…"


End file.
